Violence forces 100,000 families to flee homes

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Sectarian violence has forced about 100,000 families across Iraq to flee their homes, a top Iraqi official said. At least 17 people, including an American soldier, were killed Saturday in fighting. Adil Abdul-Mahdi, one of the country's two vice presidents, estimated on Friday that 100,000 Iraqi families -- 90 percent of them his fellow Shiites -- had fled their homes to escape attacks by rival religious sects. This estimate was higher than any offered so far by Iraqi officials.

Chinese president beats drums for dancers

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Chinese President Hu Jintao caught onlookers off guard Saturday when he walked off the red carpet at Nairobi's airport to beat a skin drum for traditional dancers on his last day of his African tour. Smiling, Hu broke official protocol and squatted beside a surprised Kenyan drummer. Hu's apparent high spirits came a day after he clinched yet another oil deal in Africa, cementing China's growing influence on a continent that is rich in natural resources yet also the world's poorest and most corrupt.

Italy's Berlusconi indicates he will resign

ROME -- Even billionaires don't always get their way. Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a wealthy media mogul, indicated Saturday he was ready to resign after long denying electoral defeat, saying a Cabinet meeting expected to make his departure official was scheduled for Tuesday. Berlusconi did not directly say that he would hand his resignation to Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. But, asked when he would step down, he replied, "The Cabinet meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday," and added he would soon go to see Ciampi.

Chinese church to defy Vatican wishes

BEIJING -- China's state-sanctioned Roman Catholic Church will install a new bishop opposed by the Vatican on today, potentially damaging efforts to restore official ties between the sides, a Vatican-linked news agency reported. Hong Kong's Catholic diocese, which is under Vatican jurisdiction, protested the planned ordainment Saturday. The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association will ordain Ma Yinglin as bishop of the city of Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province, Rome-based AsiaNews said Friday. AsiaNews said the Vatican opposes Ma because he is too close to the official Chinese church's leaders and has little pastoral experience.

Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela reject U.S. trade

HAVANA -- Bolivia's new left-leaning president signed a pact with Cuba and Venezuela on Saturday rejecting U.S.-backed free trade and promising a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation. Cuban authorities did not release copies of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas signed by Bolivia's Evo Morales, so its contents were unclear. Local media reported that it had the same language as the declaration signed last year by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, which contained much leftist rhetoric, and few specifics, but was followed by closer economic ties between the two vehemently anti-U.S. leaders.

-- From wire reports